Article • Dean Baker’s Beat the Press
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No, I’m not talking about its decision not to raise interest rates yesterday, I mean the release of May data on industrial production. The data showed a decline in manufacturing output in May of 0.4 percent. The output levels for both March and April were also revised downward. Over the last three months production has been declining at a 2.4 percent annual rate.
This indicates that the manufacturing sector continues to be a drag on the economy and is likely to mean further job losses in the months ahead. The report is yet another warning that the economy is not moving along at a healthy pace.